More details are emerging about Catchplay, the brand name for VIA/HTC’s OnDemand project.
Catchplay is a multimedia distribution platform based on peer-to-peer (P2P) methods that will allow users to securely and efficiently purchase and download media much like Joost aims to do but adding music, films, and games into the service. According to a report at DigiTimes, VIA has taken a 50% stake and is aiming for 500,000 users in 2007. Here’s the interesting bit that relates to UMPCs though.
VIA Technologies hopes to expand the application of mobile devices, including UMPCs (ultra-mobile PCs), PDAs and Smartphones, through integrating such hardware with CatchPlay, VIA OnDemand pointed out.
Unfortunately, the service is planned for Taiwan at the moment so EU and US users will have to wait. Negotiating content rights is a huge task and as this is a relatively new type of platform for distribution, the timescales for finalising contracts will be long.
More research and thoughts about VIA Ondemand.
